Shoe form



W. J. DE WITT Sept. 1, 1931 SHOE FORM Filed March 19, 1930 illrlllll $2 I 'Illll VG'IIIIIII Patented Sept. 1, 1931 umrso STATES PATE'r-f QFFICE WILLIAM J. DE WITT, OF AUBURN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR '10 SHOE FOR-RICO INQ, OF AUBURN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW' YORK snon FORM 7 1 Application filed March 19,1930. Serial No.436;938.

This invention relates to improvement in a shoe form, more particularly in a form comprising a hollow walled member adapted to be inserted in the toe of the shoe the walls of the member terminating in'flanges and a crossbar carried by the flanges and by which the distance between the walls of the member may be controlled.

Forms of this generaltype in which a crossbar is provided for controlling the distance between the walls'are well known. The crossbars of such forms however are generally pivoted at one end to the flange of one wall of the form and have a sliding or adjustable connection at the other end to the flange of the other wall and the distance between the walls is determined solely by such slidable or adjustable connection.

One object of the present invention is to provide a form in which the crossbar in addition to its slidable or adjustable connection includes means independent of this connection by which the distance between the walls is determined; more particularly a crossbar having at its free end a curved portion which engages at all times one wall of the member and also a tongue which is adapted to'enter one of a longitudinally ex tending series of perforations provided in the flange of that wall.

Another obj ect of the present invention is to provide upon the form a sprag'or prong which when the form is positioned in a shoe Q is swung into engagement with the insole of the shoe to prevent any unwanted or inadvertent movement of the form from its proper position. H

Two embodiments of this invention are disclosed in the accompanying drawings in which; e V

Fig. 1 is a top plan View of a toe form with parts broken away embodying one form of this invention; V

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.; s

Fig. 3 is a similar view of a toe form embodying another form of thisinventio n'; Fig. 4 is a cross section taken along the line 4 4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a crosssectiontaken along the pro ecting tongue-23,}and a line 5-5 of Fig; 1 illustrating the relation of the prong to the insole of the shoe.

In both embodiments the form comprises a hollow toe member 10, preferably though not necessarily of resilient material, the' walls ofwhich terminate in flanges 11 and 12 and are connected by a crossbar 15 attached to the flanges. Since these features The other or free ,end of the crossbar 15 is bentto form a substantially annular loop 21, a spring or a coil 22, and upwardly K portion 24 from which the tongue extends.

In the flange l2 ofthe form arecprovided 'a longitudinally extending series of suitably spaced perforations25 with any one oil which the end 23 of the crossbar is adapted to engage. The loop 21rests on the upper face of theflange; the coil 22 is at the inner edge of the flange and theportion 2 1 extends belowthe flange. 'It will be particularly noted that the loop 21 is of such conformaare common to both embodimentsthe same tion that it rests in the angle 26 formed at.

the joinder ofthe flange 12 with the side wall of the form 10 and bears at all times against such side wall.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the crossbar 15 is pivotally connected at.

one end by a rivet or button 30 to the flange 11. The other or free end of the crossbar is bent'to' form a loop 31 which, instead of being annular, is substantially triangular.

That end of the crossbar also forms a coil 32 and terminates in a tongue-33 formed at the end of a portion 24. The tongue is adapted .to project through any perforations 35 of a longitudinally extending series formed. in

the flange 12. The loop 31 rests on the upper surface of that/flange and has a snug engagement with'the angle 36 formed at the joinder of the flange 12 with the body 10 of the form while the portion3l extends below the flange 12. v p

From the above description of the cony as struction it will be apparent that in each embodiment as the crossbar isswung on its pivot from the full line position (Figs. 1 and 3) to the dotted line positions the loop 21 or 31, hearing against the wall of the member will tend to separate the Walls and hold them; in such separation. When the crossbars are swung from the dotted line positions of Figs. 1 and 3 to the full line of positions the walls of the form if of re silient material normally tendto contract and such tendency is limited by the loops 21 and 31. The tongues 23 and 33 merely act to position the crossbar and prevent its unwanted pivotal movement but they do not under ordinary conditions have any separating or limiting function.

The form 10. is substantially securely located in the toe of the shoe by the contact of the walls but under certain conditions it has been found that the form slips out of its proper position and in order to prevent such movement I have provided a prong 40 as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5. The prong 40 is pivotally secured to the body of the form, preferably though not necessarily to the flange 11 as here illustrated. One manner of so securing the prong consists of a rivet or button 41. The body of the prong may be curved as shown in Fig. 5 and terminates in a downwardly extending tongue 42 having a ointed tip 43. When the form is inserte into the shoe the prong 40 may be swung as shown in Fig. 3 onto the flange 11 so that the tip 43 will not impede its movement. After the form has been finally located the prong 40 will be swung on its pivot into one of the positions shown in Fig. 1 with its tip 43 in contact with the insole 44 of the shoe. In the full line position any tendency of the form to shift will be resisted by the edge of the flange 11 while in the dotted line position the tendency will be resisted by the button 41. The tip 43 may be so faced that it will not resist the forward movement of the form and in such case the prong need not be swung into the position shown in Fig. 2. When the form is to be removed the ti 43 may be raised out of engagement witli the insole 44 either manually or by inserting a tool between the flange 11 and the prong 40. The prong may then be swung on its pivot until the tip rests on the flange 11, and is thus held out of contact with the insole.

While two embodiments of the invention have been shown and described it will be understood that I am not limited theretosince other embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims I claim:

1. A shoe form comprising a hollow toe member, the walls of which terminate in flanges, and a crossbar extending between the walls thereof, one end of the crossbar being pivotally secured to one flange of the member, and the free end extending above the upper face of the other flange and hearing at all times against the wall which terminates in such flange whereby as the crossbar is swung about its pivot in one direction the walls of the member are separated.

2. A shoe form comprising a hollow toe member, the walls of which terminate in flanges, and a crossbar extending between the walls thereof, one end of the crossbar being pivotally secured to one flange of the member, and the free end extending above the upper face of the other flange and bearing at all times against the wall which terminates in such flange whereby as the crossbar is swung about its pivot in one direction the walls of the member are separated, the free end carrying means'which engage the flange of that wall and limit the pivotal movement of the crossbar.

3. A shoe form comprising a hollow toe member, the walls of which terminate in flanges, and a crossbar extending between the walls thereof, one end of the crossbar being ivotally secured to one flange of the memer, and the freeend extending above the upper face of the other flange and hearing at all times against the wall which terminatesin such flange whereby as the crossbar is swung about its pivot in one direction the walls of the member are separated, the flange of that wall having a longitudinally extending-series of perforations and the free end of the crossbar carrying a tongue which, whenitengages oneof the perforations, limits the pivotal movement of the crossbar.

4. A shoe form comprising a hollow toe member, the walls thereof being flanged, and

a crossbar pivotally attached at one end to the flange of one wall, the flange of the other wall having an arcuate longitudinally extending series of holes, the free end of the bar including a loop which rests upon the upperface of the perforated flange and bears at all times against the wall of the member which terminated in such flange whereby, upon the pivotal movement of the crossbar,

the distance between the walls is determined and a tongue carried by the free end of the crossbar and adapted to engage one of the holes in the flange whereby the crossbar is held against such pivotal movement.

5. A shoe form comprising a hollow toe member, the walls thereof being flanged, and a crossbar pivotally attached at one end to the flange of one wall, the flange of the other wall having an arcuate longitudinally extending series of holes, the free end of the bar including a loop which rests upon the upper face of the perforated flange and bears at all times against the wall of the member which terminated in such flange whereby, upon the pivotal movement'of the crossbar,

the distance between the walls is determined, a portion which rests against the under face of the perforated flange and a tongue carried by the free end of the crossbar and adapted to engage one of the holes in the flange whereby the crossbar is held against such pivotal movement.

6. A shoe form comprising a hollow toe member of resilient material the walls of which tend to approach each other and terminate in flanges, and a crossbar extending between the walls of the member, one end of the crossbar being pivotally secured to one flange of the member, and the free end of the crossbar entering the angle of joinder between the wall and the other flange and bearing at all times against the wall whereby the walls of the member are positively separated when the crossbar is swung about its pivot in one direction and the tendency of the walls to approach is limited when the crossbar is swung in the other direction.

7. A shoe form comprising a hollow toe member of resilient material the walls of which tend to approach each other and terminate in flanges, and a crossbar extending"v between the walls of the member, one end of the crossbar being pivotally secured to one flange of the member, and the free end of the crossbar entering the angle of joinder between the wall and the other flange and bearing at all times against the wall whereby the walls of the member are positively V separated when the crossbar is swung about its pivot in one direction and the tendency of the walls to approach is limited when the crossbar is'swung in the other direction, the free end of the crossbar carrying means which engage the flange of that wall and limit the pivotal movement of the crossbar.

8. A shoe form comprising a hollow toe member of resilient material the walls of which tend to approach each other and terminatein flanges, and a crossbar extending between the walls of the member, one end of the crossbar being pivotally secured to one flange of the member, and the free end of the crossbar entering the angle of joinder between the wall and the other flange and bearing at all times against the wall whereby the walls of the member are positively separated when the crossbar is swung about its pivot in one direction and the tendency of the walls to approach is limited when the crossbar is swung in the other direction, the flange of that wall having a longitudinally extending series of perforations and the free end of the crossbar carrying a tongue which when it engages any one of the perforations limits the pivotal movement of the crossbar.

9. In a shoe form comprising a hollow toe member the walls of which terminate in flanges, and a prong pivotally secured thereto and having a tip which, when the form is located in the toe of a shoe, engages the insoleof the shoe and prevents the unwanted removal of the form from its proper position, said prong being movable to a position of rest upon a flange of the form so that the tip is out of engagement with the insole of the shoe.

10. In a shoe form comprising a hollow toe member the walls of which terminate in flanges, and a prong pivotally secured to one flange of the form, and having a tip which, when the form is located in the toe of a shoe, engages the insole of the shoe and prevents the unwanted removal of the form from its proper position, said prong being movable to a position of rest upon a flange of the form so that the tip is out of engagement with the insole of the shoe.

Signed by me at Auburn, New York, this 17th day of March, 1930.

WILLIAM J. DE WITT. 

